'Monsters' not so scary after all

Thursday

Even if the visually similar "Cloverfield" and the thematically similar "District 9" didn't already exist, "Monsters" would still seem painfully hackneyed and obvious.

Even if the visually similar "Cloverfield" and the thematically similar "District 9" didn't already exist, "Monsters" would still seem painfully hackneyed and obvious.

See if you can figure out what the allegory is within this sci-fi tale: A couple of Americans stranded in Mexico can't get back across the border because there's a giant infected zone filled with scary aliens blocking their way. American troops who patrol this northernmost part of the country are arrogant jerks, while the Mexican people who help our twentysomething travelers are generous and kind.

Once they do reach the edge of the United States, they see a tall, foreboding wall intended to keep intruders out.

In case we still can't figure out the point of Gareth Edwards' film, he has one of his characters state the following: "You know, it's different looking at America from the outside, in."

Huh. You don't say.

Yes, "Monsters" really is that heavy-handed, which might have been more tolerable if it had at least offered some vague tension or even the slightest glimmer of chemistry between its two stars, who share the screen pretty much the entire time.

Photojournalist Andrew Kaulder (Scoot McNairy) has been covering the ugly, ongoing battle between humans and the aliens they've been struggling to contain. His publisher's daughter, Sam Wynden (Whitney Able), finds herself trapped in Mexico and needing an escort back home. They're reluctant companions on this journey, which means naturally they're going to end up falling for each other because they're facing extraordinary circumstances together and, well, because they're in a movie.

But neither of them is thrilled about the normal life that's waiting for them on the other side. As they chat and get to know each other through various dangers and obstacles, Kaulder reveals the awkward relationship he shares with his young son; Sam, meanwhile, has a fiance she doesn't seem terribly enthused about seeing.

This prompts Kaulder to make the observation, as they stand on the brink of crossing the border, that they'll soon be returning to their separate lives once more. Again, if the writing is strong enough, these things shouldn't have to be spelled out for us. Kaulder and Sam talk the whole time but they're still not very well drawn.

It's a shame, too, because Edwards — as writer, director and cinematographer — does deserve some points for effort and technical ingenuity. Visually, "Monsters" manages a lot with a little budget. The monster effects, sometimes seen through a hand-held video camera's viewfinder, are intriguing in an understated way. Edwards also was wise to refrain from showing us the aliens in all their grody glory until just about the end of the film, instead teasing us with glimpses of their tentacles and chunks of their charred carcasses.

When a couple of aliens do encounter each other for Kaulder and Sam and the audience to see ... well, it's meant to be hugely symbolic, too. But you get the sense that Gareth only knows how to toy with lofty concepts rather than dig deeper and offer real critical meaning.

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